The Magical Catastrophe
The Magical Catastrophe is the historical name of the event that caused the culture, history, infrastructure, and resources of the prosperous society that once inhabited the Barren Lands to all but vanish. A catastrophic disaster, The Magical Catastrophe is considered the 'beginning' of the currently established clan-society of the Barren Lands. The Ancient Ones Not much is known about the society that originally inhabited the Barren Lands, known to the Hyborians as The Ancient Ones. However, research and discovery of ancient relics resembling other society's technology and infrastructure suggest that the society was developmentally on par with those around it. Ancient texts recovered from some of the few remaining structures (that have since been built into cities by the Hyborians) tell of a place that was home to a rich and lush landscape of forestry and lakes, along with magical creatures. Scholars outside Hyborian and Barren Lands cultures have suggested, based on foreign texts by traders and adventurers, that the Ancient Ones were a magically advanced society. It is also suggested by the lack of surviving information from outside resources that the Ancient Ones may have been a reclusive society, not often allowing outsiders to enter. While there have been a few attempts at recovering the name of the Ancient One's culture, accounts seem inconsistent. It has been referred to in various texts and retellings as Etheria, Eternia, Almeria, Hrykania, Esidisi and Kara Kara. However, scholars adventuring into the Barren Wastes in recent times have reported that Hrykania, Kara Kara and Etheria are names of settlements and significant locations in the Barren Lands. As a result, it is highly accepted that these are place names that have managed to survive post catastrophe, given that most survivors would have been in or migrated to these locations in the years immediately following. The Catastrophe Details of the Catastrophe are scarce. However, it is known that the Catastrophe was of magic origin and originated with a great light. What followed was described commonly as a 'burning' or 'great' wind with great force. It is theorized that the Catastrophe originated near Hrykania due to the magnitude of damage to the original structures of the city and the complete barren landscape of its surrounding areas. Buildings and life close to the Catastrophe was 'vaporized,' with most areas of the wastes experiencing the force or heat of the Catastrophe to some degree. It is estimated that up to 70% of the population of the Ancient Ones was killed during the Catastrophe with a further 10% perishing in the following weeks from injury. However, without much information remaining regarding population numbers, this is only an estimation. Accounts of the Catastrophe While the majority of what happened during the catastrophe has been lost to history and time, a few accounts have managed to survive through descendants and races with longer lifespans, such as Orcs and Elves. According to a text written by Orgnak the Half Living, an Orc survivor of the catastrophe who died shortly after: "There was a light and it was so bright that my wife exclaimed the sun had exploded. There was then a wind. It was so hot. She had stepped our from behind the wall to get a better look. The wind was so hot and loud that I had to close my eyes and cower like a child while the stones crumbled along the wall's edges. When it was quiet again, I looked to my wife. I could see some bones. Everything else of her was gone." Yeeva the Birther recounted of her great grandmother: "My great grandmother, Yenya the Burnt, last of her name in my blood line, was a child. She was playing in the Kara Kara under-city when it happened, and said she noticed the birds above had stopped singing before she heard the great wind. Her friend put his hand to the stone above them and burned his hand. Soon the stone above them tore away in the great wind and they hid from the heat as best they could. When the wind stopped and the heat quelled, they finally moved, but the heat that made it in had burned her body and face. They climbed out of the under-city after a few hours, and Kara Kara was almost gone. She says Kara Kara was bigger, full of great towers bathed in light before the great wind. Nothing was left. The boy she was playing with survived a few months until the fire dust burned through his throat. He'd eaten poison food." Kingorr the Inconvenienced once recounted to scholars visiting Kara Kara: "My mother would tell me stories that her father told her of the Catastrophe. My mother wasn't borne yet, but her father had a daughter to another mother. He found my mother's half-sister dead, even though they lived on the other side of the Barren Lands, near the sea. She'd been eating when the great wind hit. The force had impaled her throat with her spoon." Aftermath Fire Dust In the days following the catastrophe, a red colored dust began to settle across the area, killing the majority of plant life in the space of months. Dubbed Fire Dust, the dust was considered to be a literal manifestation of fire. Contaminated food and water was not safe for consumption, and would 'burn' through the internal organs of survivors who did attempt to consume it. Fire Dust eventually dissipated into the earth, causing what academics suspect is the source of the Barren Waste's rich mineral deposits. Famine As a result of Fire Dust contamination, survivors found themselves in a period of famine and resource scarcity that continues to this present day. It is commonly accepted that this was the biggest killer of remaining survivors. The first 'hunting parties' began to travel beyond the Barren Lands, which is believed by historians to be the beginning of what developed into raiding parties. The Womb of the World The majority of water sources were contaminated and unsafe, causing mass migration to a lake in the center of the Barren Lands known now as The Womb of the World, where the water was miraculously safe to drink. It is unknown what made the lake the exception, despite scholars best attempts to find out. This is due to The Womb of the World being of such great spiritual significance to the Clans of the Barren Lands that allowing unblooded outsiders anywhere near it is considered an unforgivable taboo. Category:Lore Category:History Category:Magic